Speaking from Experience: Writing Personal Narrative (Zoom)
Dates: 4 Saturdays, September 28 - October 19
Time: 10am - 12pm
Instructor: Jaclyn Moyer
Ages: Adult
Genre: Personal Essay/Memoir
Price: $275
In this generative workshop (open to all levels of experience), we’ll delve into the rich and expansive form of the personal essay. Over the course of four weeks, we’ll read a range of works that exemplify the breadth and flexibility of this form, from James Baldwin to Joan Didion, Leslie Jamison to Ocean Vuong. Using these readings as guides, we’ll explore elements of craft pertinent to personal writing—voice, narrative distance, detail, characterization—then dig into our own lives and experiences to generate new writing, working towards a draft of one personal essay by the end of the month.
Participants will engage in weekly writing exercises and have opportunities to share work and receive feedback. This class is an invitation to break ground on a new essay, find fresh momentum on an ongoing project, and build community around writing practices.
About the Instructor:
Jaclyn Moyer is the author of On Gold Hill: A Personal History of Wheat, Farming, and Family from Punjab to California (Beacon Press, 2024). Her essays and journalism have appeared in The Atlantic, High Country News, Orion, Guernica, Ninth Letter and elsewhere. Originally from northern California’s Sierra Foothills, she currently lives in Corvallis, Oregon with her partner and two young children.
Click here to learn more about Jaclyn.
LEFT MARGIN LIT'S CANCELLATION/REFUND POLICY:
If you find that you can't take a class for which you registered, you may request a refund, less a $25 administrative fee, at least 48 hours prior to the start of the first class session. If a class doesn't reach its minimum enrollment, it will be cancelled, and all students will receive full refunds.